THE EVOLUTION OF BONGS

Posted by Vaibhav Mahajan on Feb 02, 2018

Most Cannabis aficionados would tell you, the high you get from smoking pot using a bong is probably unlike anything else. Some sources suggest that the first bongs were crafted in China in the 15th century, whereas some recent findings say Africa is wher

Most Cannabis aficionados would tell you, the high you get from smoking pot using a bong is probably unlike anything else.

Some sources suggest that the first bongs were crafted in China in the 15th century, whereas some recent findings say Africa is where it happened. From basic arrangements like making vessels out of bamboo shoots, it has been quite the journey, and much like its close cousin the Hookah, the Bong has stood the test of time. The whole functioning is based on the smoke in the stem getting filtered through water kept in the base, and inhaling the resultant vapours. Simple yet extremely effective, it is easily the most favourite mode of smoking up around the world.

The earliest bongs dating to Africa were in the form of water pipes that gradually came to the Arabian Peninsula, before which the Arabs were probably consuming Cannabis through other means. The water pipes in this era were constructed in such a way that the bowl on the top was connected to the water chamber at the bottom by a tube, and the mouthpiece on the side.

Yes, pretty much like your regular hookahs, minus the hose of course.

The bongs used by the Chinese were fashioned out of proper bronze utensils, decorated using jewels, finding a place of pride in the courthouses and in the upper society households alike. The Americans and Europeans in the 19th Century gave it their own spin by making ceramic bongs, and by the turn of the century designing bongs has become an industry of its own.

The fact that the smoke that comes through a bong is far cooler and cleaner made it preferable for smoking up, although their portability is always a problem, something that has kept other modes in the business.

The bongs available in the market are of various types. Acrylic and wooden bongs are considerably cheaper and much more durable and less cumbersome, although with time they may influence the taste and the odour. Not to forget, a bitch to clean. Glass bongs are expensive, difficult to maintain, but the mark of a true Cannabis enthusiast, usually for the ones who’ve graduated to the big league of stoners, ones who smoke up not to impress, but to learn more about the world and themselves, every single time.